Good day and welcome to vital updates on previous information, one thing to observe for one of many Dodgers‘ key pitchers, gaudy win projections, and basking within the glory of the farm system.
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The Athletic: In case you’ve been residing underneath a rock, Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced to 57 months in jail for defrauding Shohei Ohtani.
A federal choose sentenced Ippei Mizuhara, the previous interpreter convicted of defrauding Los Angeles Dodgers celebrity Shohei Ohtani, to 57 months in jail at a sentencing listening to inside Orange County Superior Court docket on Thursday.
Mizuhara sat silently, and had no seen response as Decide John W. Holcomb learn the sentence, which included three years of supervised launch and a restitution of greater than $18 million to Ohtani and the Inner Income Service.
The sentence was precisely what the federal government had requested in a pre-sentencing submitting. Mizuhara had requested an 18-month sentence after pleading responsible in June to financial institution fraud and submitting a false tax return.
A giant purpose Ippei bought the utmost is that he continued to mislead the court docket about mainly all the things, together with Ohtani compensating him nicely past his wage, and the choose wasn’t having any of it.
Amusingly, the conspiracy theorists successfully contributed to Ippei’s punishment. Good job, guys! Thanks for being morons.
Govt: “In the course of the two seasons Mr. Mizuhara was stealing from Ohtani he took half what Ohtani made.”
Now speaking about reputational injury to Ohtani
As a result of Mizuhara lied to ESPN and mentioned Ohtani knew about his playing individuals nonetheless refuse to consider Ohtani had nothing to do along with his playing.
— Molly Knight (@mollyknight.bsky.social) February 6, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Governmentt closing and specializing in how this has impacted the sufferer’s status. How individuals on-line are promoting merch calling Ohtani a gambler. And disgraced former ballplayers and conspiracy idea writers are additionally piling on.
— Molly Knight (@mollyknight.bsky.social) February 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
The shot at Pete Rose was a pleasant contact. Relaxation in piss.
Los Angeles Occasions: Hey, keep in mind when Dustin Might tore his esophagus final season? That was … such a sudden and bizarre factor to have occur to any participant. Effectively, now now we have the story on it, and fortunately he’s alive, a lot much less pitching.
On the evening of July 10, whereas he nonetheless was rehabbing on the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch facility in Arizona, Might went to dinner and ordered a salad. After one chew, he felt lettuce caught in his throat. Making an attempt to clean it down, he took a fast swig of water.
Moments later he might inform one thing was flawed.
His spouse might have truly ended up saving his life.
For quarter-hour, Might mentioned, he felt a “mega-painful” sensation in his throat and abdomen; he later discovered the lettuce lodged in his throat led to a extremely unusual meals impaction that perforated his esophagus tube. When the ache wore off, nonetheless, Might returned house from dinner considering he could be OK.
“I’m not a giant panicker,” he mentioned. “It form of chilled out. So I used to be like, ‘I’m fantastic. I don’t must do something.’”
His spouse, Millie, wasn’t so certain.
“No,” Might recalled her saying. “We’re going to the ER to get it checked out.”
His situation ended up requiring main emergency surgical procedure.
To restore the rupture, Might required what he described as “mainly a full belly surgical procedure” — lifting his shirt in entrance of his locker Friday to disclose an extended vertical scar from his decrease chest to his abdomen.
Whereas this occurred in July, he reportedly mainly solely bought again to “regular” across the begin of 2025 or so. So regardless of them saying that he feels wholesome once more, some endurance with him may very well be so as contemplating the severity of the surgical procedure.
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The Athletic: Tyler Glasnow not solely says he’s wholesome, however that he’s been wholesome sufficient the place he’s labored on adjustments to his supply.
That, Glasnow mentioned, has allowed him to work by way of some adjustments. The tweaks, inspired not less than partly by the Dodgers, heart largely on how he leverages his large 6-foot-8 body down the mound and the place he’s positioned when his entrance foot vegetation earlier than he fires a pitch.
“Once I land I was very prolonged, backbone angle and stuff,” Glasnow mentioned. “So I’ve been working with some individuals, attempting to make some small adjustments. It’s laborious to clarify however as soon as I throw I’ll really feel you possibly can in all probability see it.”
Primarily based on a singular clip, I assumed it may very well be associated to his arm slot, however we’ll see.
My physique is prepared for Tyler Glasnow’s return, hopefully his is as nicely. (By way of @dodgers.com)
— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) February 11, 2025 at 5:28 PM
One thing to watch as Spring Coaching will get underway.
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Baseball Prospectus: PECOTA initiatives the Dodgers to win 104 video games, 11.7 greater than the subsequent highest group within the Braves, and 17.2 greater than the subsequent NL West group within the Diamondbacks. That provides the Dodgers a 99.6% likelihood of creating the playoffs, a 95.1% likelihood of successful the division, and a 21.9% likelihood of successful the World Collection.
FanGraphs: Talking of projections, they’ve bought the Dodgers successful 97.5 video games, 4.1 greater than the subsequent highest group within the Braves, and 11.5 greater than the subsequent NL West group within the Diamondbacks. They gave the Dodgers a 98% likelihood of creating the playoffs, an 85.9% likelihood of successful the division, and a 24.1% likelihood of successful the World Collection.
Like I’ve been saying, the factor about baseball is you may make the perfect roster in historical past and nonetheless have like a 70% likelihood of not successful the World Collection.
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The Athletic: Keith Regulation, who ranked the Dodgers’ system third in baseball, offers his Prime 20 prospects for the group.
Baseball America: Talking of farm system rankings, in addition they have the Dodgers third.
Trades have thinned the Dodgers considerably, however the prime of the crop is a lot robust and solely bought higher after touchdown No. 1 total prospect Roki Sasaki, even when we don’t count on him to stay a prospect for lengthy. Dalton Dashing and Alex Freeland in any other case paved the way forward of a trio of younger, fascinating outfielders within the decrease ranges. The group is balanced from prime to backside but in addition is harm by accidents that can maintain massive league-ready pitchers out for the 12 months.
Baseball America: Moreover, they named the group’s #31 to #40 prospects as Hunter Feduccia, Jesus Tillero, Chris Newell, Patrick Copen, Logan Wagner, Christian Zazueta, Adrian Torres, Jared Karros, Wyatt Crowell, and Ronan Kopp.
Baseball Prospectus: In the meantime, the Dodgers are as much as second of their farm system rankings.
They will’t maintain getting away with it, proper? The World Collection champs flipped Michael Busch to the Cubs earlier than the season for 2 high-upside current prep picks. These gamers now rank eighth and 52nd on the Prime 101. Alex Freeland bounced again within the higher minors, Josue de Paula retains on conserving on (however does must elevate the ball extra), and the Dodgers have a pipeline of current IFA bats poised for 2025 breakouts. The pitching continues to be very robust—though very injured—however the system depth perhaps isn’t fairly as spectacular because the final couple years. It in all probability received’t matter anyplace however in these rankings.
So mainly, the consensus in the intervening time will not be solely is the big-league group ruining baseball for everyone by successful one (1) championship in a row after which truly attempting within the low season, however the farm system is among the greatest in baseball. Fucking candy.
FanGraphs: Relating to all these prospect rankings and what they imply, Ben Clemens seems to be at how the grades have translated into manufacturing for groups.
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Video games are usually not distant now.
